No end in sight to violence in Maoist union

KATHMANDU, May 10: Despite several steps taken by their mother party to prevent intra-organizational violence, Maoist trade unionists from rival factions are still engaged in brawls and assaults against each other at public places.



On Monday evening, those from the union faction led by Salikram Jammakattel severely beat up Gyan Man Dangol from the faction led by Lal Dhwaj Nembang, who has been admitted to Model Hospital in Kathmandu. He has bruises all over the body. [break]



“The goons severely beat up Dangol when he was outside Anna casino,” said Hom Subedi from the Nembang faction. Dangol is the treasurer of the Maoist Trade Union at Anna casino.



Subedi said the “goons” were led by Kalpadeep Rai of the Jammakattel faction.



The party had decided to take action against some members of the Jammakattel faction who had earlier attacked unionists from the rival faction.



“So the irate Jammakattel faction attacked Dangol,” said Subedi.



To diffuse the intra-organizational crisis, the Maoist party had dissolved the committee led by Jammakattel and appointed party secretary Posta Bahadur Bogati to hold the national convention to elect a new leadership.



On the International Workers´ Day, the rival factions had decided to boycott the party´s public function, attended by Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, for not taking action against those involved in the assaults. They decided to attend the function at the eleventh hour after Dahal publicly pledged to take action against the guilty. And as per the plan, the party took action against three leaders, including Kalpadip Rai.







Maoist trade union faction is split vertically into three factions. Jammakattel is close to Dahal, Nembang to Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Badri Bajgain to Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya.



Govt should step in: Bhattarai



Maoist Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai paid a visit to Model Hospital Tuesday to inquire about Dangol´s health condition.



“It is purely a criminal act, not a political incident. Criminals have infiltrated our party and the trend is getting serious. Now it is time the state move ahead to bring the guilty to book,” said Bhattarai at the hospital.



Bhattarai said that such incidents cannot be kept within the party and that the government should take serious action against the guilty.

Party secretary Post Bahadur Bogati also paid a visit to the hospital.

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